Very Very Old Popcorn Discovered in Peru

People living in ancient Peru may not have had movies (or ceramic pottery, for that matter), but they did have popcorn! A paper published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science reported that corncobs, husks, and tassels “dating from 6,700 to 3,000 years ago” were found at coastal archaeological sites. These are the earliest bits of corn ever discovered in South America, and show signs of being used for popping.

Corn was first domesticated in Mexico nearly 3000 years before it made its way through the Central American rainforests to South America. The paper did not indicate whether Artificial Alpaca Butter Topping was also found at the site, but we’re sure there’s a crack team of researchers analyzing the data as we speak.